AI transcription service gets $14m boost

Pencils down, class. A virtual transcription assistant is here to make physical note taking obsolete.

Fireflies has raised $14m, per VentureBeat, which it will use to expand services and hire more people.

The startup uses AI to record video meetings…

… and automatically transcribe the audio with 90% accuracy, the company says. It can also transcribe prerecorded audio.

On top of making Zoom meetings more accessible to employees who are deaf or hard of hearing, other handy features include:

• A transcript search function
• Comments and reactions
• Integration with other platforms, like Slack, Dropbox, Zapier, and CRMs

Fireflies is free until users hit 3k minutes

Then teams can pay for monthly ($10-$19) or custom plans with more space and perks.

CEO Krish Ramineni told VentureBeat the tech was used by 200k+ organizations last year, during which revenue also jumped 3x.

That makes sense because digital meetings were necessary during the pandemic…

… and they’re likely to stick around:

• A study that surveyed 22k+ working-age Americans estimated 23% of workdays will stay remote, 4x more than before the pandemic.
• Another found that ~81% of respondents want to stay home all or some days.
• In March, Zoom still expected a 41%+ revenue jump this year, even as pandemic restrictions relaxed.

Bonus: Letting AI take your notes may reduce Zoom fatigue.